AukeHoekstra Profile picture
Sep 14, 2020 9 tweets 3 min read Read on X
New degrowth paper is way off on electric trucks.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
ht @ErikwimDuring

Paper claims eTrucks with range of 800 km need batteries heavier than the allowed weight for truck+load in the EU today.

That's ~10x too much.

Quick takedown thread.
Here's the quote I'm reacting to.
(I've not dissected the rest of the paper.)

Let me calculate for you why this is bollox.
How big is a battery for 800km?

I had a couple of master students study the issue and we concluded that with aero fairings and low rolling resistance tires, the average energy use per km would be close to 1.3 kWh/km.

So 800 km range means around 1 MWh battery.
Right now, cells are about 260 Wh/kg.
Experts expect 400 Wh/kg in 2025. greencarcongress.com/2020/05/202005…

Add 30% weight for the battery pack =>
~300 Wh/kg =>
0.0003 MWh/kg.

So 1 MWh weights 1/0.0003=3333 kg.

That's >10x less than the paper claims!
The theoretical maximum energy density of lithium air batteries is over 10 kWh/kg: 10x lighter still.

Combine it with a 3x more efficient electric motor and its lighter than gasoline/km.

That's not happening anytime soon but it shows you the 2025 value is far from outlandish.
As we showed in a recent paper, the drivetrain of an electric vehicle can be about 3000 kg lighter.

That means:
ALMOST NO ADDITIONAL WEIGHT FOR AN ELECTRIC TRUCK IN 2025.

researchgate.net/publication/33…
Of course we are not there yet so I'm glad the the EU added an allowance of 2000 kg to zero emission trucks.

By the way: trucks are usually volume constrained (the container is full) and not weight constrained (the container is too heavy) which is why hydrogen has a problem.
Before I wrap up: I agree with the writers that we should limit our resource use and that our amount of travel and how we travel is wasteful.

But I am sick and tired of degrowth proponents that bend the facts in order for their dogma to become truth. That doesn't solve anything.
Conclusion: well designed modern low emission heavy eTrucks with 800 km of range are less than 2 tonnes (5%) heavier than diesel equivalents.

They will become LIGHTER around 2025-2030.

Don't let any degrowth proponent using heavily outdated literature tell you otherwise.

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More from @AukeHoekstra

Jun 17
The official report on the blackout in Spain and Portugal is just released. I'll give a quick summary of findings and provide some additional info.

TL;DR
conventional power plants didn't control the voltage as planned
over-voltage caused renewables to turn off as required
The report (of which only press reports are available) points the finger to

1 conventional backup plant taken offline for maintenance without replacement being arranged

9 other conventional backup plants, of which every one had a degree of non-compliance
uk.news.yahoo.com/spain-reveals-…
Renewables also had a role: "tension was very high and sustained, causing the disconnection of generators".


An inside source tells me the voltage went above 110% in many places and solar was required to switch off, which meant 8GW was lost all at once.elpais.com/economia/2025-…
Read 5 tweets
Jun 10
Just made a visualization for myself about the unprecedented growth in solar that I thought I might share.

From 1880 to 1950 all electricity came from fossil+hydro. Then nuclear briefly grew with market share increasing with up to 1% per year in 1985.

Now solar takes over. Image
I've described in more detail in a substack post:

There's more info on each picture there.aukehoekstra.substack.com/p/the-coming-s…
I made this picture because I think you forget what is happening when you look at total final energy. Renewables seem so tiny! Image
Read 8 tweets
Jun 9
I see this a lot:

Conservatives who *just know* that nuclear is better than solar and thus blame their favorite scapegoat *the government* for solar doing better.

But in reality it's the opposite: the market likes solar so much that not even the government can save nuclear.
I guess Andre's attention for me is due to my being irritated at his fact free diatribes of pseudo-scientific nonsense:


So now he sees reacting to me as a way to get attention?
And I'm reacting again, so maybe I'm being duped?
Anyhow...
Let's start with some quantifiable facts. (Things this conservative armchair energy philosopher is allergic to.)
First thing we notice is that solar and wind are clearly surpassing nuclear (though the new leadership of the department of energy denies it).
Image
Read 19 tweets
May 18
Many people think solar and wind won't be able to keep the grid stable because they lack "inertia".

I think solar, wind and batteries will do a BETTER job and I think you can explain it thus:
- the old grid is a record player
- the new grid a digital player
🧵 Image
If you play vinyl records, the rotating mass of the turntable is used to keep the speed steady. This leads some vinyl enthusiasts to seek more mass because that will keep things more steady.

This turntable by Excel audio attaches a separate mass. (Overkill but makes my point.) Image
In the same way the inertia in the rotors of current power plants helps the grid to keep a steady 50 Hz (in e.g. Europe) or 60 Hz (in e.g. the US) frequency.

These machines turn a heavy copper coil wound around a heavy iron core and this helps keep the grid frequency steady. Image
Read 21 tweets
Aug 13, 2024
Great to see more and more attention for flexible grid pricing.

We must say goodbye to the "copper plate" that offers free power everywhere and every time. It's hideously expensive and outdated.

What we need is smart flexibility.
🧵
The underlying reason is that the costs of different components of the energy system changed:

Some remained high (e.g. pylons, fossil & nuclear)

Some plummeted (e.g. solar, wind, batteries, EVs & inverters)

Some became possible at all (e.g. measuring & steering in real time)
So now we should make good use of these new, clean, abundant and affordable options, even if it means doing things a bit differently than before.

So what should we do different regarding grid congestion pricing?
Read 20 tweets
Jul 28, 2024
Some are angry about the "anti-Christian depiction of the last supper" at the Olympic Opening ceremony. (@elonmusk and @realDonaldTrump among others)

A Dutch art historian explains it's not the last supper but a Dutch painting of the Olympic gods.
And I explain what I loved.
🧵
Image
Image
Original Dutch thread here. I just translated it.


@WSchoonenberg shows that the "tableau vivant" (living painting) is depicting "The Feast of the Gods" by Jan van Bijlert, from 1635.
Image
The heathen Gods have gathered on mount Olympus for a feast. Sun god Apollo is recognizable by his halo, Bacchus (Dionysus) by the grapes, Neptune (Poseidon) by his trident, Diana (Artemis) by the moon, Venus (Aphrodite) by Cupid.


Image
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Read 24 tweets

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